The Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) and Reel Sisters will present an evening of notable award-winning and family-centered short films on Wednesday, March 25, 2026 at 7 pm, in honor of Women's History Month. The collection features uplifting characters who navigate life challenges while keeping their families intact, with tickets priced at $17 ($12 for BAM and Reel Sisters members) and available at https://www.bam.org.
The lineup includes Maria de la Cruz Rudloff's Shallow End, an Oscar-qualifying short from Reel Sisters' 2025 festival, which follows twenty-something Agatha as she pieces together her life after a lengthy stay in rehab. Another narrative, Laundry directed by Okema T. Moore, portrays a married couple grappling with the aftermath of their six-year-old son's severe accident, featuring actors Tobias Truvillion and Danielle Moné Truitt. Tamika Lamison's acclaimed Superman Doesn't Steal, set during the 1970s Atlanta child murders, offers a coming-of-age story through the eyes of nine-year-old Harriet and her brother, connecting audiences with familiar experiences through a compelling narrative.
Additional films in the showcase include Musica Quarantena, an animated short by Lilian T. Mehrel and Danielle Rhoda about a little girl inspiring a town in lockdown to make music from their windows, and Gloria by Kim Blanck, which follows a Chinese woman in her 70s who finds purpose by teaching herself Spanish while managing memory issues. Joy Nesbitt's The Knife explores the story of Ife, a young Black Irish woman, and her husband Darragh as they confront unexpected complications during a pregnancy scan, testing their trust in the healthcare system. More details on the event can be found at https://www.bam.org/film/2026/reel-sisters.
This collaboration underscores the cultural significance of amplifying diverse women's voices in film, particularly through Reel Sisters, the first Oscar-qualifying film festival in the nation devoted to women of color, which has showcased over 10,000 films by women of African, Asian, Native American, Indian, Latina, and Arabic descent since its founding in 1997. Presented by African Voices, a non-profit arts organization dedicated to fostering cultural understanding through art, literature, and film, Reel Sisters will hold its next festival in Brooklyn on October 24-25, 2026, with information available at https://www.reelsisters.org.
BAM, a thriving urban multi-arts complex with over 160 years of history, attracts more than 750,000 people annually to its Brooklyn campus, offering a cultural stage for global and local communities. The institution is renowned for programs like the Next Wave festival and DanceAfrica, alongside its repertory film offerings. This event highlights the ongoing commitment of both organizations to present visionary and cutting-edge work that resonates across diverse backgrounds, providing a platform for stories that reflect resilience, family dynamics, and personal growth during Women's History Month and beyond.
